Partnership Announcement

“How can I add value?” - it’s the question I ask myself with every new project…

As a creative problem solver, it’s my job to help brands present the best versions of themselves to their audience. As a business owner, it’s my ambition to offer the best version of my company to my clients. 

When Owen and I met, ten years ago at The Northern School of Art, I saw potential...

Potential, not just for friendship and romance, but a strong professional partnership. Even as a budding artist, Owen's flair for technical drawing, his funny and original ideas, and his strong commercial voice were all very apparent. It wasn’t long before we began collaborating on freelance opportunities, thriving off the way our skill sets perfectly complemented one another.

In 2015 we both graduated from the Northern School of Art with First Class Honours Degrees. As graduates, we began to map out our future in pencil, leaving plenty of room to doodle in the margins.

But first, we wanted a taste of industry…

I landed a position as an in-house graphic designer, creating web and print materials, while doing freelance work in the evenings. Meanwhile, Owen got a job at a local creative agency, producing work for an array of clients. 

The opportunity to work together arose again in 2017…

In 2017 we collaborated on a competition run by Grand Central. Once again, the value that we added to one another’s work shone through- we not only won the competition, but were commissioned to produce a further six illustrations for Hartlepool railway station. The project even won a local Award for Tourism Potential.

Using this springboard, I leapt into self-employment…

I began building my business from the ground up, as Owen rose to the position of design director at the creative studio he had entered as a junior designer. 

Over the past two and a half years, I have poured my heart and soul into building a strong reputation for this business, through a portfolio of intricate architectural illustrations and striking branding designs. Not one to take success for granted, I began to circle back to that all-important question - how can I add value? What can I offer my clients, that I’m not already offering?

The answer was sitting in front of me…

In October 2019, Owen stepped down from his directorship role ready for a new challenge. We knew it was the right time to forge an official partnership, and in May 2020, ‘Abby+Owen’ was born. 

‘Abby+Owen’ is the sum of its parts...

It’s a creative powerhouse, bringing fresh ideas to the table. It’s an agile, two-person studio offering unmatched dedication to clients. It’s an organic development of our careers, but most importantly - it’s us, offering the best version of ourselves.

Talking Creative Careers with BBC Bitesize

Recently I joined BBC Tees and Bitesize on the road to deliver three 1-hour careers sessions to secondary school audiences in Teesside.

I ended up speaking to an audience of 950 pupils at Our Lady at St Bede's school, to inspire the next generation to look at careers in the creative industries. This is a subject very close to my heart and so I positively jumped at the opportunity to be involved! It was an exciting day of Q&A and chatting with the kids.

The panel had a ‘Question Time’ style setup featuring a panel of three professionals, including myself. It was hosted brilliantly by Capital Radio presenter, Sarah Story. 

(L-R) Sarah Story, Rianne Thompson, myself and Nina White

The focus was on my career journey and the educational route that formed part of it, so I was asked to talk about my business and show examples of some of the wonderful work I've been lucky enough to be involved in.

I wanted to offer some insight into the world of creative work and hopefully shine a light on at least one route into the world of design and illustration, that many of the young faces in the audience might not have considered. Judging by the feedback I've had from the day, I did a pretty good job of that! All in all, I was truly struck by the maturity of the questions asked by the pupils. 

The empty hall before the students came in

Speaking from my University Experience, I know how inspirational it can be to hear from people who followed their passion and set a business up themselves, but it can be a continual struggle to have confidence in your talents at such a young age. I wanted to assure the pupils that being in Teesside can provide plenty of opportunities to carve a creative career path for yourself. 

Being interviewed was a great opportunity to reflect on my journey. Keep your eyes peeled next week as I'll be sharing a transcript of the Q&As! 

Tensile Strength (or How to Survive at Your Wit’s End) Tour Posters are Looking Sharp

Between October 2018 and September 2019, Holly Gallagher is touring her latest show Tensile Strength (or How to Survive at Your Wit’s End). Holly is a theatre-maker, director and facilitator who was keen to create a recognisable brand for herself and have promotional materials for her shows that will stand out from the crowd. The goal was to create bold promotional items, but also set a distinct style, colour palette, font choices etc. so Holly’s future shows can follow suit.

The show was produced and commissioned by ARC Stockton, and funded by Arts Council England, and supported as part of the Third Angel Mentoring Scheme 2017 in association with Sheffield Theatres.

Tensile Strength (or How to Survive at Your Wit’s End) tells the story of three different characters all experiencing stress. The stage is full of buckets which act as a metaphor for stress, at one point in the show, the audience is asked: Imagine you have a bucket; and all the things you have to cope with in life as water going into that bucket. Raise your hand if your bucket is A) Empty B) Half full C) Overflowing.

After discussing the show over a hot drink with Holly, we decided an illustration involving an overflowing bucket would be perfect for the promotional materials. I included the show description ‘A Show About: Stress, fear, pressure ,sadness, mental health, when things are all a Bit Too Much and then the cat goes missing’ within the bucket which is spiralling into an abyss, much like how it feels when you get so stressed you can’t think straight. Holly also received brand guidelines which give her the colours, fonts etc. she needs to continue using her brand online.

“I have been a fan of Abby’s work for some time now, and have always particularly loved the boldness, detail, and colours used in her work. So when I needed a designer to work on my new show’s poster it was a no-brainer for me to approach Abby.

The process of working with Abby has been a real pleasure! This was my first time using a graphic designer to create content for a show, as well as the largest tour for a piece of work I had put together. So my timeframes, deadlines, and expectations were continually changing. Abby was understanding and flexible with every change that happened, and has been more than generous with her time and dedication to the project.

The final design Abby created is a beautiful piece of artwork and has really done an effective job in advertising the show with countless people complimenting its posters, flyers, and social media images! I’m beyond happy with the professional finish Abby has gifted my show with and am so pleased to have a proper brand design for my future work now too.

I would recommend anyone to Abby for graphic design work if they want a high quality, fast, flexible, and personable experience!”

— Holly Gallagher

Holly Gallagher’s stage set up for Tensile Strength (or How to Survive at your Wit’s End). Photo by Davey Poremba

Sending My Artwork Worldwide - Where Can I get a Vintage View to?

In June 2018, I was commissioned by Vintage Chartered Financial Planners to make an illustration of Roseberry Topping.

The feedback they received on the artwork since its creation has been nothing short of remarkable and so rather than keep the image to themselves, they decided to share it with the world by sending ‘Vintage View’ postcards to all corners of the globe.

I loved this idea and got involved immediately by sending the postcard to family, friends, business connections and clients all over the world, from New York, Hong Kong, Africa, Spain and Switzerland to name just a few. Below is a collection of those who helped. Watch the video below to find out more about the project, or read the press release Businesses Unite with Roseberry Topping Artwork.

If you would like a postcard please contact Vintage or myself so we can get Rosie even further!

Dehli - India

Taken at Humayun tomb in Dehli by photographer and letterpress artist, Francis Fitzgerald. See his work here.

Hong Kong

Taken in Hong Kong by Laura, who is a teacher, teaching English as a foreign language.

Namibia - Africa

Taken by Kathryn at Elevation Marketing while on a tracking expedition with Ray Mears at Erindi Game Reserve, Omaruru.

Amsterdam

Taken by my cousin Megan and her partner Frazer.

Clarence Pier - Portsmouth

Taken by Anjalee Burrows, an aspiring children’s book illustrator, who just completed her first illustrated book, The Hospital Hoppities.

Kedrodasos - Crete

Taken by Malcolm Wray a professional photographer living in Crete.

Reykjavik - Iceland

Taken by Lucy and Paul who run For the Love of the North, they offer North East related Gifts, Prints and Cards which are sourced directly from the artists.

Valencia - Spain

Taken by Karen at Vintage Chartered Financial Planners on her many travels.

Leeds

Taken at the Corn Exchange in Leeds by graphic designer, Adam.

New York

Taken from the Empire State Building in New York, by illustrator Amy Dipper.

Brazil

Taken at Vale nature reserve, one of the largest protected areas of Atlantic rainforest in Brazil. Taken by Amy who is studying zoology and is an aspiring writer, currently writing for Campus Society.

Geneva - Switzerland

Taken at Jet D’eau fountain by Andrew at ProJuice.

Camden Town - London

Taken by Becci, currently studying for her PhD in Biochemical Engineering at UCL.

Yonago-shi - Japan

Taken by Chi at Call Kanda shrine while she was visiting her family.

Madrid - Spain

Taken at the park, Parque Cerro del Tío Pío, but the locals know it as Las Siete Tetas (The Seven Tits) because it was an old landfill of seven mounds, which has been turned into a park. Taken by the lovely couple, Waine and Ruben.

Corfu - Greece

Taken on holiday by my parents, Paul and Angela.

New York - Central Park

Taken by Rebecca, who lives in Canada but was on holiday in New York.

Copenhagen & Paris

Taken by Andrea who was following the U2 tour and travelling a lot.

Toronto - Canada

Taken by Vicky, who used to travel past Roseberry Topping a lot when she was living in England, and reached out on social media to me. Taken at Hudson’s Bay Company.

Algarve - Spain

Taken By Beverley Lawson, Spanish Tutor in Darlington.

London

Taken by Anne-Marie, holistic therapist at Kismet. Photos taken on the cable cars over the Thames, and next to the life-size marble statue of Queen Victoria, at Guys and St Thomas Hospital.

London

My own contribution while on a trip to London. I snapped a photo at the London Eye and a scene of the Palace of Westminster and Big Ben (currently getting a makeover)

Little Loch Broom - Scotland

Taken by Michael Ritchie, a student at Edinburgh University.

Budapest

Taken by Nina York.

Wales

Mount Snowden, taken by Debbie Branson.